Category: overconsumption

It’s Not the Pattern Designer’s Fault, It’s Your Lack of Curiosity

I think that one of the best things to come out of the internet is thoughtful discussion, albeit few and far between, but those rogue moments of principle sure are great. I experienced this over the weekend, when in a bit of a mood, I decided to pick up a fiber art project and queue up a Mark Vogel video. I love his content, he is as wordy as my grandma, with the love of music to boot. He has this way of challenging without being confrontational, and inspiring me to want to keep improving on fiber arts and interpersonal communication, just like she did.

This video though, challenged me in a way I did not see coming, and helped me synthesize some petty feeling I was carrying, that were rather useless. A few years ago, when I began this blog, hot takes were still a bit of a novelty, but now it feels like hot takes are the way we communicate in 2026, with common sense and self-control the delicacy appreciated by a few. How did a few years take something we all grew up knowing how to do, having common sense and self-control, and turn the behavior on its head to be an acquired taste?

That is why, I don’t share all the opinions I have anymore, some of my takes are straight up dumb and I don’t want to make a fool of myself. I did this in the beginning of my blogging, and now I cringe to think of the catharsis out there on the internet, which is why some of my posts have been changed to private. Anyways, writing is a journey. But, one thing I have shared, at least I think I have, is my indifference to PetiteKnit patterns. Not that I have purchased one to know if they are good or not, just that the ubiquitous PetiteKnit patterns have cluttered my feed and have become odious to me by how many people are making them. Yes, that is a very petty opinion, and I say, yes I agree with you. I don’t think I am correct, but it’s how I feel.

When I first discovered knitting Youtube and knitting podcasts, I was inundated with PetiteKnit this and PetiteKnit that.

This was around the time of the Cumulus O-neck blouse, the Sophie scarf, the Frankie, the Olga, the Ivy, the Maggie Cardigan, etc. The Sophie scarf in all its iterations and the Frankie are the two trigger points for me where I began to have negative feels towards the name PetiteKnit, I could feel myself tuning out or rolling my eyes when I heard someone talk about the next cast on being Sophie or Frankie. But I never sat with myself to figure out why had this reaction.

I think deep down I was concerned it was jealousy from her success, and I mean envy for the incredible careers Mette Wendelbroe Okkels has had would be reasonable. A doctor and the biggest pattern designer of this decade? Yeah, that is intimidating!

I think there is a lot of confusion too about where then name comes from. You see this very thin, white woman, from Sweden in these picture perfect places and it feels like another rich influence flaunting their privilege and a possible fascist ideology in this post-2024 US election landscape. But that’s not where the name comes from, she began designing baby patterns. Petite referring to small humans. She is not a Taylor Swift, she is just really good at what she does and the 2020 lockdown boosted sales.

So if it’s not jealousy, than what is my gripe? Well, when Mark Vogel was musing on an odd comment he received about his stockinette project. Specifically, that if it’s “stockinette” no one needs an update, he shared some thoughts that convicted me and clarified for me where my PetiteKnit burnout was coming from.

(For context, a lot of PetiteKnit patterns have stockinette, it’s a timeless finish and something I like in my own projects. Especially since I am not yet versed in cabling. Stockinette is common, but not boring, as the commenter supposed. Most store bought “professional” knits utilize stockinette.)

There is a trend in particular with knitters who share their work on the internet to be focused on “store-bought” looking knits. Which is not why I knit, I knit to create things I can’t find at the store. But for a lot of 2026 knitters, they want it to look store bought, and they want to make things that are trendy. This has created a boom of projects from just a few pattern designers flooding my feed, and everyone’s knitting feed realistically, with a repetition of names:

  • The Lakes Pullover by Ozetta
  • My Favorite Things Knitwear
  • PetiteKnit Frankie or PetiteKnit Olga
  • Andrea Mowry
  • Ranunculus Sweater by Midori Hirose
  • Kutovakika by Veronika Lindberg
  • Sari Nordland
  • Caitlin Hunter

The popularity is not the fault of the designers, it is their success for their hard work, what is actually bugging me is the sheeple nature of humans. When I hear one of these designs being mentioned it is usually with the intention of making it exactly as the designer did for their sample, like down to the color, the yarn brand, an exact replica. Over and over, and over again, as the algorithm spreads these trends, and we see the same project replicated ad nauseum, until our minds snark at the mention of these designs and their creators.

I’m not the only one who feels this way, a lot of the snark you see online about these designs echoes this sentiment, particularly when it comes to Rhinebeck, a sea of the same sweater, but instead of approaching this feeling with thoughtful contemplation, the snark is turned into vicious critiques of the creatives who made the patterns. We as humans are so good at tearing each other down, and getting upset at the pattern designers instead of being frustrated at the knitting influencers and overly-online knitting culture that is algorithmically flattening the creativity of the craft, is misguided and wrong. Like most good things, internet trends and virality, followed with this longing to be apart of something is making us make the same things.

That’s what I have caught myself doing. I am so bored and resentful, I don’t want to see the same thing over and over again. I want to see some original thought! Try a new yarn, or color! Experiment instead of copy and pasting the crumbs of the sample until there is no flavor left to behold. Be creative! The pattern was supposed to be a tool for that, not an AI prompt for you to shut your brain off and steal someone else’s work.

Quiet Luxury and store bought quality knit patterns, now merging with the need for basics in a recession is influencing the sad beige knitting trend we snark about, not PetiteKnit. I’m not afraid to say I had it all wrong. I’m glad there are positive and respectful creators out there like Mark, who encourage us to think deeper and respect one another. So let’s be kind knitters, and stop snarking on PetiteKnit from a reformed snarker, who has grown. Because you know what I learned while researching this post? PetiteKnit has a ton of interesting patterns that I’ve never heard of before! There is personality and variety, that social media drowned out and that’s a shame, so go forth curious my friend to make something new!

Etsy, I’ve Had It With You

This is not a shock, Etsy in 2026 sucks. It has been going downhill for a while, but the drop off in our current time is abysmal.

I used to find amazing things on the site. The best coat I’ve ever own from an indie designer from Shanghai. A cool elephant print messenger bag from Thailand. An intricate glass bead necklace from a glass artisan in Estonia. Vintage buttons from Ohio. Handmade wind chimes to honor the passing of my family dog from a shop in Maryland.

But there is no replacement for what was. 7 years ago I purchased a moonstone ring from an artist in India, but through my moves I have misplaced it. Frustrated with myself for not being more careful, I went on Etsy to see if I could find a similar piece and I thought I had. The seller said they were from my home state and prominently displayed certification on their listings, so I went ahead and purchased a new ring.

That’s when I realized I got got by the new Etsy. The ring did not ship for over a week, no message from the seller at all after purchase, and when it did ship the origin was not from Pennsylvania but from New York City, a port city, a drop shipper paradise. Then the ring arrived, looking nothing like the listing.

The stone was plastic, flat, lower than the metal setting, clear instead of the milky hue of moonstone, and loose in its setting. The ring came in a cheap plastic bag like you won it out of a gachapon machine. This was a trinket, not the certified small business jewelry I thought I ordered. This was a Alibaba or Temu special delivery from an Etsy seller cosplaying as a handmade artist who probably stole the product images on their site.

Why is this the way now? I just want to go back to the days of easily being connected with real artists and not people stealing and scamming to make a buck. I hope the person really needed that money.

I’m not bothering to contact Etsy, they will do nothing. They created this situation by rewarding AI and drop shippers, while silencing the makers who made their company a household name. Instead I have deleted my account and the start of a shop, I have had in limbo on the back end since 2020 because Etsy is not a place I want to be a part of anymore, as a seller or a customer. It is hollow.

Time to Switch My Clothes Around

Every Spring and every Autumn, I would hear this phrase, from my mom, and my grandparents. It would follow with a flurry of activity. Sweaters unpacked from the “chifferobe” and piled onto the bed. Shorts and short sleeve shirts, carried from the drawers, to their cold weather slumber. Uno reverse, and the opposite dance began when the breezy warmth breathed life back through the open windows. As a kid, I enjoyed seeing all the clothes out of their drawers where I could look with curiosity at their clothes so different from my own. I didn’t understand the practicality, honesty, until this year, many, many years later.

Since we moved to Georgia almost a decade ago, we have been without proper dressers which sounds insane, I know. We’ve lived in some places with nice closets, that made storage simple. But we have lived in others where the closets were downright unusable. We’ve used moving totes, fabric dressers from Amazon, cube storage, and zipper totes for comforters. It’s an imperfect system, requiring a lot of digging through bins to find what you are looking for.

I think I have been so pre-occupied with simply organizing these bins, I didn’t think about moving my clothes around seasonally. That was until we bought our house and faced another closet that was challenging. I had hoped our house would have good storage, but that is something, I am learning, that you have to customize to your taste. This place has okay storage in the bedroom, but the problem remains that we need needed more storage like those proper dressers. Of course those are expensive and time consuming to make, the closet being bigger would have let us kick the can farther down the road, instead, God provided a really neat solution.

Our neighbors offered us a chest, a large cabinet really that can either be upright or laid down longways like a trunk. It’s an older piece, that with the dark stain patina, I think looks like a vampire coffin. This chest fits six of these large quilt storage totes! Which means I finally have my “chifferobe” storage piece. The chifferobe name makes me smile because this was not a wardrobe, this was a long trunk that sat at the foot of my grandparents bed, now it lives in my old bedroom at the foot of the bed I sleep in. My mom and grandparents also used trunks to do this. Steamer trunks to be specific, that my great, great grandparents used to immigrate from Ireland to America. Restored to the former glory and it such a convenient way to store clothing for the season.

On the left and in the featured image are the steamer trunks, and to the right, blocked by a suitcase is the cedar chest at the foot of the bed, that Kyle is using as a desk.

Maybe you don’t need to declutter so often, as often as influencers do. Perhaps, you just need a organizing system that makes your closet smaller and manageable for the season you are in, either in a four season climate, or in a state of mind. Putting things into a longer term storage, sort of like moving items out of your backpack in Stardew Valley, into a chest, takes those items out of your daily mental load, without getting rid of them. It’s very clever. Do you store things seasonally? Would you give this a try?

Lessons from Tailoring: The Shoulder

Over the summer, I went through my cool weather clothes and pulled pieces that I didn’t like to alter into garments I would wear more often. Two of these garments I chose to upcycle were a pair of men’s henley raglan long sleeve shirts from Bass Pro Shops. These were from a Black Friday sale last fall, to bring more henley style shirts and raglan baseball tees into my closet. They are great shirts. Soft and sturdy fabric, comfortable, but not the right fit for my body or style. Since this shirt was designed for masculine style, it was not as cute on as I hoped. The button placket is set higher on the chest, near the collar bone, instead of lower near the chest in feminine styles. The second issue was the shoulder, it had room for even broader shoulders than I have, accentuating my shoulders in all the wrong ways. Now, I could have re-homed these pieces but I’d like to keep the baseball tee shirts and enjoy wearing them. I bought them with the intention of keeping the a long time.

The neckline had to be fixed. That high collar was the biggest obstacle to styling the shirt for me, but how does one change a neckline from a from a crew neck button placket to a v-neck or scoop? I first removed the ribbed collar, and focused my efforts on the shape my open neckline would create. From previous alterations and pattern cutting, I knew that v-neck and scoop necklines can get you quick. The open shape can quickly shift from good to gaping, to sliding constantly off the shoulders. Once it is cut, you can’t go back – so you better have a plan.

I did have a plan this time. I would continue my cut in a key shape. I followed the line of the button placket, in a narrow scoop down until the end of the buttons. With those pieces removed it was time to taper and shape the final cuts. I matched each side for a tapered scoop, paying attention to the depth and at the bottom of the curve. Too low, and this shirt would be too revealing for casual wear. Too wide as we work our way up to the shoulder, and would slip off. I kept my line narrow, remembering to account for the rolled hem, that would eat up some width. I tried this on and was pleased with the scoop so I moved this project forward to hemming.

This is where my upcycling hit a snag. I still have a lot to learn when it comes to fitting garments, and my green tailoring skills showed when it came to finish the neckline. The neckline had excess at the bottom of the scoop, more gaping than I wanted, which left me with a fork in the road. Do I gather it? Do I add darts? Do I cut more? I decided to gather it at the bottom and live with it for a bit. I put it back in my closet and let it be until the cool weather returned.

Fast forward to this past weekend, and the first cool days of September. I wore the golden tan version with the gathered scoop, and it was not it. The shirt was close but no cigar, and I found myself tugging and adjusting this odd neckline. What I noticed as the day went on, is that the shoulder was fitting strange too. There was a bunching of fabric at the top of the neckline and back, not what I was looking for. Finally, last night I stood before my mirror and started adjusting. I tried the shirt on backwards, normal and off the shoulder. I folded the bottom hem to see if I needed to crop it. I thought about changing the neckline. Would a binding the neck opening in a collar solve the bunching? I took out the gathers and tried it on again, how do I make this sit flat?

The shoulders. I needed to take in the shoulders. I tried raising the neckline in the mirror by gathering some excess in the scoop, but then I pinched some fabric with my fingers at the shoulder and huzzah! We found our solution. (I also removed the cuffs to shorten the sleeve for a better fit for my arm length.)

My purpose in buying these shirts, was to bring a style back into my wardrobe that I used to own in college. My Gas Monkey Garage spark plug baseball tee and a v-neck baseball tee from Victoria’s Secret. I wore those pieces to death in the early 2010’s. By pinching away the excess at the shoulder line, the scoop rested flat and there was no bunching at the arm’s eye. It continues to amaze me how the most random parts of a garment change the entire fit.

Who knew a loose shoulder can make the neckline wonky? This novice tailor sure didn’t. I hope this little story of tailoring can help you if your stuck fitting a shirt. Or maybe this will inspire to take the plunge on a alteration in your closet.

The Brilliance of Dress Up and Styling Games

Something I didn’t expect when I began playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons was how much it would evoke memories of playing dress-up and room styling flash games as a kid. Specifically, the Lizzie McGuire, My Scene, and Fashion Polly games. Although early ACNH gameplay surrounds building an island community and infrastructure, the longer you spend on your island, the more you decorate. Either the island itself, your house, islander houses, vacation homes, or, recently, hotel rooms. Styling your character gets a lot of in-game attention, too, from the hair and eye customization upgrades from Nook Miles, or the daily offerings from Able Sisters – you are motivated to play dress up. Sometimes, receiving Nook Miles for the simple act of changing your outfit. That is perfectly fine with me!

Moving away from flash games of my tweens, and into reading fashion magazines in my teens and 20s, it wasn’t as fun just looking at the fashion – I wanted to experiment. Which, I think, translates to a lot of us as shopping, because playing games is seen as childish. Since playing ACNH, I have found a new outlet to express the creative itch that has helped me explore my own personal style without playing into the shopping addiction that the current culture is infected with. Not to say I am immune, throughout college and too far into my adult life, I was stuck in a cycle of emotional spending and trend chasing. Most of the jobs I had were terrible, and that fed into the idea of treating myself as a trade-off. Not wise, nor was it satisfying.

Looking back on that time, playing around with different outfits and designing rooms, like I used to as a tween, was what I was looking for. Something to clear my head or try new things, without hauling new items or overhauling my living spaces. I think renting fed into this need to design a space that felt like me. I missed the customization of my childhood bedroom, in shades of purple with a wall of curated fashion ads pulled from Vogue, W, and Harper’s Bazaar. Although thankful for a roof over my head, those cookie-cutter rentals of beige and white feel soulless on purpose; they are not designed to have design.

Before ACNH was released in 2020, there was The Sims 4, which I played at the end of the 2010s and sort of satisfied my design game wishes. House building and customization were by far my favorite parts of gameplay. The clothing options were okay, sometimes a bit stifling because you dressed your sim for occasions and not simply to change the outfit. But my main gripe with The Sims 4 is the paywall DLC. How many gamepacks do you need to make it worth it? And how much money must you spend to get the full experience? It’s quite frustrating to get minimal variety from the base game, which you pay for just to spend money again and again to expand the catalog of clothing, hair, furniture, etc. It’s ridiculous!

Although ACNH costs 60 USD, you get a vast catalog of items, with one DLC game expansion – Happy Home Paradise for 20 USD. Some features are behind a Nintendo Online Membership, like Dreaming, Zelda items, Hello Kitty items, Nintendo throwback games, and Amibos, but nothing compared to The Sims 4. The game can be played daily without these elements and not feel like your catalog is incomplete, in my opinion.

The clothing catalog from ACNH is vast, with clothing for all seasons, from various cultures, and for specific occasions like professions or holiday offerings. When the shopping bug is eating at me, I like going on the game and buying a new outfit from Able Sisters with the imaginary currency of Bells. Even the act of dressing my house up or my character in a gameplay session can clear my head from wanting new things. The game provides that space to create and change it up that my mind desires, but keeps it to the sandbox. And isn’t that the point of most impulse purchases? We are chasing the feeling of new, so why spend real-life resources to consume endlessly? Just play a game.

What about curating your wardrobe or trying a new aesthetic? ACNH thrives on a perfectly curated aesthetic! The game literally awards you points each week, for the design level of your home. What I think has helped me the most, though, to push out the intrusive, trendy thoughts and find my style, is building a capsule wardrobe for my character and then changing it up. When I am feeling stuck in a design rut, I can explore outfits and a specific style through the game.

As you can see from these images of my character and her current wardrobe, I’ve been in a more casual mood in the game and in real life lately. I’ve been wearing casual separates, but that might be because my character had the outfits first. When I was in my dress phase, my character wore fancy, frilly dresses.

Is the clothing groundbreaking? No, but it’s darling. Look at that froggy tee! You can play around with different styles, such as these three outfits below. From left to right – Addams Family, Red Velvet’s Cosmic music video, and trying a style from another culture. That is one of my favorite parts of the game, getting the chance to style clothing from around the world in the context of my ACNH character.

Finally, ACNH has one specific style contribution to my wardrobe – hats, shoes, and bags. This game has retrained my brain to accessorize. Sometimes I clash with an unexpected combo – and I have learned the art of doing that before I buy or create in real life. I always have a hat when I leave the house. I never used to do that. Look at this inspiration, though! My outfits on Honeycrisp and in real life feel incomplete without the eclectic bag, statement hat, and an interesting pair of shoes.

So if you are feeling stuck in your style or struggling with overconsumption, may I suggest playing a game?

Unrelatabilty and 2025 Holiday Campaigns

I had plans originally to write about Ralph Lauren Christmas on its own, but then I saw two advertisements, one from local brand Steel City and another from Banana Republic, so bizarre that I knew I would be here. Hopefully not ranting too much, for the goal of this discussion for me is to think more deeply about the subtle oddities in my culture, I see weaving themselves in, like they are normal. Overconsumption, cultural appropriation, and the cosplay of wealth.

Banana Republic’s Holiday Edit

So what does fippery have to do with it? Fippery is another word for ostentatious; it’s showy. Frivility in dress or style. I also find the attitudes of these two brands, and I do want to write about exactly that. Banana Republic has always been in my mind, a bit ridiculous. But with every re-watch of Seinfeld, I see J. Peterman in Banana Republic’s threads, but their recent holiday commercial pushed me over the edge. They are that nonsense.

The holiday commercial is set in Ireland, County Cork, and I know I haven’t been to Ireland in 20 years, but dang, nothing about this commercial felt authentic. They play a cover of “Linger” from the Cranberries over the holiday scene in a pub, wandering around the town, finding a telephone booth with Irish Gaelic on the sign. They are all wearing vaguely Irish clothing, but really it looks like cast walked through a Premium Outlets on their way to Castletownshend, Cork. There are lovely Irish Christmas songs and many other songs by Irish bands that would have captured the spirit of the season better than a breakup song. No shade to the Cranberries, I love them. There were better Cranberries songs to pick. Personally, I would have looked at Dreams, Ode to My Family, and I Can’t Be With You to capture the nostalgia of the season with a non-traditional song.

Moving beyond the music, there was nothing really Irish about this ad. We barely see the town, we barely see the people, or the ancient beauty of Ireland. Think about movies such a Waking Ned Devine or Banshees of Inisherin – the landscape is a character, so is the music, and community. Ireland felt warm, not in temperature, but in the warmth of the people. The land feels like there is magic just under the surface, an imagination unbreakable, and a spirit that carries the culmination of all those who came before in an essence that makes you want to know more. The sweaters are intricate, made with the intention of preserving heritage crafts. Just take a look at Banana Republic’s holiday page compared to Blarney Woolen Mills, which is based in County Cork! The source material was right there. I guess what I am trying to say is obvious: Banana Republic’s collection is the fast fashion version of Irish style, don’t fall for it, no matter how they try to sell you on the “luxury” of it all. Now, what really bugged me about this ad was, in my opinion, the cultural appropriation of it all.

There is a fairisle sweater in this Irish collection, which is actually a Scottish heritage craft from the Shetlands. This sweater contains wool from Italy, being sold as an Irish-inspired sweater. You couldn’t even use Irish wool? Or include iconic Aran sweaters? Fisherman sweaters like the iconic one from When Harry Met Sally? The Donegal Wool sweater and sweater vest, straight up annoy me because these are again Italian wool. There is a wonderful mill in Donegal called McNutt that could have supplied true, authentic craftsmanship. We still have our clothing pieces from this store and Blarney Woolen Mills, 20 years later. I don’t like Ireland, which has been used for centuries, been the butt of the joke for centuries, being used again to peddle some lackluster clothes.

Gap, Inc. is a huge brand; they should have invested in sustainable Irish materials and supported the local Irish economy by using Irish craftspeople to create this collection. But just like J. Peterman, they come and see, then they steal other cultures’ designs to make a quick buck from subpar clothing. Look at the prices! The Banana Republic sweaters, made in Italy with Italian wool, versus the Blarney Woolen Mills sweaters made in Ireland from Irish wool, both made from merino wool, too. Local is better. Also, look at the craftsmanship of the Blarney sweaters; those cables are stunning and also affordable. Shame on you, Gap!

Steel City, What Are You Doing?

Actually, to quote the Big Fat Quiz Show, “You slag!” Steel City is a brand no one outside of the Pittsburgh area will know about, and that’s okay. Small businesses are great, and when this brand first started, they were cool. Their claim to fame was hyper-local graphic tees of beloved cultural things such as Turners Tea, the Stillers (aka the Steelers), Kennywood, Mr. Rogers, the Pens (Pittsburgh Penguins), and nostalgia. Over time, though they have expanded, which is great, creeping out to the suburbs of Cranberry and Ross Park Mall, and that is where things have taken a bizarre turn. In 2022, I went to their location in Cranberry Township and was appalled by how tissue-paper-thin the new items were. We had bought pierogi and Potato Patch shirts, which were of great quality, but the new stuff was off. The prices, quite higher than before, and I was no longer interested in their stuff.

But as targeted ads go, I keep seeing their stuff everywhere, and it has gone in some random places. There was a motorcycle and a desert aesthetic to their pieces now? Okay, odd. Neither of these things has anything to do with Pittsburgh. I guess the name is the only connection? Next, I got ads for quiet luxury workwear pieces, the local graphic tees, now behind a t-shirt club paywall. It felt soulless, and I was incredibly disappointed. I thought in the beginning maybe they were going to make the items in Pittsburgh, but they are made overseas. This morning, though, I got an ad that straight up felt out of touch.

Seriously? In this economy? With the amount of destruction the fashion industry creates on our planet? Honestly, Steel City, what the flipping heck are you doing? This brand is neither relatable nor cool anymore. Wasteful consumption is not in style, no matter what the internet says.

Ralph Lauren Christmas

Now, Ralph Lauren isn’t promoting this; this is just a TikTok trend, and I just wanted to drop my two cents. I’ve spent the last five years chasing the nostalgia of old Christmas, Christmas before everything hurt. Before people died. When I was a kid, things were simple. No matter how much you spend, decorate, chase – this aesthetic is not going to fix what is broken in your heart. I encourage you to seek out authenticity this Christmas. Volunteer time at shelters, donate supplies, check on neighbors. Call those friends or those family members you haven’t seen in so long and connect once again. The Home Alone house is stunning, but remember, what brings the true Christmas spirit is the relationships reconciled for the Old Man and Kevin on Christmas morning. People over things, always.

What If Game of Wool Celebrated Design and Craftsmanship?

sheep in a field

If you missed it, I made a Game of Wool Bingo card for episodes 1-3, because in my opinion, this show should not be taken seriously. I’ve given up watching, interacting with recaps, etc. I’m not going to watch beyond episode 3, and that is because hate-watching is validation in the attention economy of 2025. That got me thinking, what do I wish Game of Wool was instead of what it is? Game of Wool, just like Project Runway, I have notes!

No Kits or Internet Dressing Projects

I don’t want any themed-making kits sold per episode. They have been doing this for the episodes I have watched, each week partnering with a big yarn company, honestly making kits that serve no purpose other than a cash grab. I also don’t want to watch weekly episodes with challenges that create useless items. Useless from a practical and technical standpoint.

  • Crochet and knit swimwear is dumb. You can’t wear it other than for a photo shoot, which places it in the “internet dressing” category. It’s for a photo. It’s not even practical for a music festival. But it does resemble a “Coachella” look.
  • A crochet deck chair had potential, but it was not used within the materials provided or the time frame.
  • A dog sweater with a required hat is not kind or practical for dogs. The sweater is comfortable, but the hat is not comfortable for the dog. Again, it is for a photo. Washability was not discussed either.
  • The mohair sweater was the only challenge that was the closest to being a useful challenge, for design teamwork and wearability, but they ruined it with the ridiculous time frame.
  • A couch cover is useless, because I have thought about constructing one for my own couch to stash bust, but it’s just not practical for anything other than a showpiece. Which is how they judged it, so a lot of wool was wasted to make a big, useless swath of fabric.
  • The fair isle vest misrepresented a heritage craft of the region they were filming in. Why not just film a historical film set in the Renaissance, and put the actresses in Victorian corsets without a chemise, tight-laced? Same level of idiocy to be flashy!

This Game of Wool presents everything that late-stage capitalism is in relation to crafting and hobbies, thanks to greed, social media, and the attention economy. The British farmers could use the income; how about sourcing locally? What about sustainability and slow fashion? Yeah, 12-hour challenges do not represent anything but hustle culture. Girl boss, slay!

How Would I Fix It?

  • Real experts, not these two ladies.
  • Either all amateurs or all expert contestants. Pick a lane. Either be the Bake-Off or be Project Runway and offer a CFDA mentorship kind of prize.
  • Bring in a real mentor to help in the wool barn.
  • Take them on field trips to see wool being processed, dyed, and spun. Same with flax for linen.
  • Tell the story of why textiles matter and why fair trade for the animals, farmers, and ethical standards matter.
  • Explain why local matters for the economy and the ecology of the region.
  • Teach the history of cottage industries.
  • Teach the history of how knitting has changed the world, such as the development of textile machinery and the creation of the binary code. Essentially, fill in the gap of what Sci Show failed to do.
  • Set real challenges that teach, showcase the skill of the fiber artists, and show innovation.
  • Do a challenge that involves unravelling sweaters for yarn and teach the world about this amazing, sustainable possibility.
  • Task the fiber artists to design patterns, and explore what goes into design and proper pattern writing, because it is a technical skill.
  • Make things that will be auctioned off for charity.
  • Bring in people as guest judges who will bring professional connections and opportunities for the fiber artists.
  • Set realistic deadlines, and slow down the pace of the show. Follow a timeline like Mind of a Chef that explores moments of cooking over an entire season.
  • Let the makers make, unencumbered by the pace of the internet. Take note from Bernadette Banner and other makers out there that celebrate true craftsmanship and sustainability in the heyday of microplastics.

I’m tired of this show discounting a skill that has been tossed aside as a Grandma hobby since the Industrial Revolution. In these weird and wacky times, slow fashion and an appreciation of craftsmanship are in short supply in the media. This show had such potential! But they are truly chasing the money over integrity.

#76 – Boredom in 2025

The biggest trend I think I’ve seen this year is the sentiment that everything feels boring right now. Whether it is fashion, film, or books, the art of storytelling is supposedly dead. This phenomenon has even crept into my unpredictable and exciting world of K-pop, and up until yesterday, I’d say I agreed. But as I sit here, I would like to put forth a different thesis.

Escapism from the Super Massive Blackhole

What if everything feels boring because you are running on empty? This year was the first time since discovering K-pop in 2022 that I felt bored and indifferent to my favorite bands. Some of this was due to outside forces beyond my control, like controversies, military service, and straight-up evil in the case of Taeil. Yet, some of this boredom, I believe, was caused by how much I was leaning on these safe spaces to find joy when nothing felt joyful or safe. There has been a constant pulse of uncertainty, like tectonic tremors, making us all question the point of it all. There is such a dreary air. A hopelessness, especially in people my age and younger, who are not able to reach milestones due to broken systems. Since I discovered the band Stray Kids, I run to their music for a safe place. But in 2025, I had stretches of time where even SKZ had no appeal. I had listened to every release over and over again until even their most addictive tracks had no appeal. I couldn’t believe how much I was craving a new album until a week before Karma released. As the week progressed, I could feel a hunger for a happy distraction. This year has been the first time my usual pick-me-ups have felt numb, and I wonder if one prong of this boredom we seem to be feeling isn’t coming from this exact situation.

To be honest, I think this could be why K-pop Demon Hunters exploded in popularity; it was new and fun when things seemed darker than ever. Same thing with Twice and their Lollapalooza performance, it was a night where everything felt normal for a second.

Have I Entertained You?

This attention economy is reminding me of that iconic line from Gladiator, and I don’t like what it is doing to art, music, storytelling, fashion, all of it. There is no room to reflect and craft something beautiful. We are pushing things too fast. I’ve been reflecting on this for a while. I see commentary on trends, relating to fashion, which usually goes something like – there is nothing new, everything and nothing is trending, yada, yada, yada. Sprinkle in a bit about clothing quality from the past, and the brain rot of the algorithm, which is killing creativity and subcultures because of a curated vitality. Like it’s a beast unleashed upon modernity, instead of stopping to think critically about it.

It’s obvious after some consideration that making things for vitality is not the same as making something to stand the test of time. Modern romance novels are being created for TikTok vitality first, and quickly, to keep up with the lazy decision of publishing houses to invest in AI over true writers. We blame the current author pool for a lack of creativity instead of holding publishing houses accountable for ruining their reputation through unethical practices. Because, truly, as an author, why would you feel inspired to create a story like Jane Austen when this is the current state of publishing? You could make a true work of art, and be rejected because they would rather steal work to create the same story through AI, or the publisher doesn’t want to take a chance on a good story when the algorithm is fickle and shallow.

Boring People Are Bored

AI is doing exactly what I expected; lazy people are becoming lazier, except that it is currently being rewarded. We used to know how to entertain ourselves. We used to know how to create, enjoy, and take pleasure in things, but I think AI is a snare that is making people boring, and it doesn’t have to. AI is an easy way out of daily life. It can be a friend, a relationship you don’t have to nurture, but is hollow. It can create art, but you will have no artistic skill of your own as a result. It can write you a book, without telling a story. It can create a music video, like JUMP for Blackpink, without any effort from the actual talent, and create a nightmare image of Rose with Jungkook’s facial structure. Do you see the pattern? It’s like cheating your way through school; it produces nothing and wastes precious resources, like time, or in the case of AI, drinking water and electricity.

Cringe > Innovation

What I have seen as the most flagrant accusation of boredom has been the dissonance of innovation and cringe. Let’s take, for example, Ceremony. It’s a song that has no chorus until the end of the song. It’s layered, has high production value, and features something new for Stray Kids and boy band offerings. But what do I see online? It’s awful. Stray Kids are braggy and loud, no talent. K-pop is boring; everything sounds the same. Except, Stray Kids, it’s too experimental. No wait, it sounds like all their other songs, yawn….etc. How can we have the audacity to complain about being bored while we punish bands for taking risks? It’s not just Stray Kids, I have seen similar criticism being launched at Nmixx, NCT, Ateez, Twice, Aespa…the list goes on.

It’s no different when it comes to the world of fiber arts. People complain about how crochet and knitting are getting boring and want new things to make, because everyone is knitting the same things, yet don’t branch out from a few massive pattern makers, like Sari Noorland, Petite Knit, and Andrea Mowry, to name a few. There are so many smaller creators crafting joyful patterns that would disrupt the slump, but no one wants to stand out these days.

I think as this year enters its final act, we should decide what we value more: being entertained? Or being authentic? Do you want to truly discover something new? Do you want to dig deeper for something fresh? It requires us to act, to search, and to participate, because we are allowing ourselves to become boring people, and it is spreading across culture, where it will stay unless we choose to be interesting again. I get it. This year has been demoralizing, and it’s made me feel like giving up many times, but there is always a reason to keep going. What if your big idea is the thing that makes this dull and dreary world sparkle again? You could be the change we need, so stop scrolling and find something that ignites passion in your heart once again!

Designing Clothing That Fluctuates With You

This is inspired by a discussion from Maybe Bre, which made me reflect on something I hadn’t discussed before. As well as my own experience wearing clothing, as a garden-variety human who loves fashion but doesn’t always enjoy how our clothing is made.

By this, I mean the patterns and fastening of our modern times. The zipper is a wonderful thing, and so is the structured waistband. I love them in jeans because denim that isn’t compromised by stretch is a rugged and sturdy garment that isn’t a piece that conforms to you; your body is housed within the trousers. I feel the same way about a structured coat. In doing so, I buy these pieces oversized for comfort, which leaves me with a garment that most of the time doesn’t technically fit me. If I did buy it to fit me right now, there is no guarantee that over many decades it would continue to fit me – I’ve been burned before by this problem. Hence, all my “staple, investment pieces” from college no longer live in my closet because they are no longer my size. If I had planned ahead and bought them a bit oversized, they might still be with me, but they wouldn’t have “fit” me at the time.

My problem with clothing is becoming clear, isn’t it? I desire longevity and wearability from clothing, in a way that is not offered off the rack. I desire my clothes to grow and shrink with me, depending on how my body changes over time. This has been my design focus in the last few years as I have placed myself in the driver’s seat of my wardrobe through the process of sewing and knitting.

My idea is not innovative; it is historical. Clothing, because it was so expensive and hard to make, was more adaptable in the past. Fastenings such as tie waist, lacing, and buttons with multiple sizes of tightness were common because clothing was not as easy or cheap, and they were not seen as disposable or replaceable. Changing fashions came with garment reworks, ye olde upcycling as it were. This is what I desire: the ability to change the fit of my garment.

I recently figured out how to sew with elastic, which is a game-changer for shorts and gathered sleeve hems! Before this, though, I was making most of my bottomweight garments with tie waists or several options of buttons to let the garment adjust to the needs of the day, I’ve also sewed with intentional relaxed fit, initially due to a lack of tailoring skill but over time it has been to allow wiggle room in pieces I have spent days or weeks of my life crafting.

Being present in the making process has taught me to treat my clothing with more respect, even when it is time to discard the current version of it for something more useful. I’ve stopped donating as much, decluttering, and rebuying, to be honest, to be more intentional with the garment and its life cycle. I am the one who brought it to life, I can’t simply consume and discard it like it is nothing. I am deprogramming my brain from decades of fast fashion insanity.

I believe if clothing were made with this design philosophy, that clothing would fluctuate with you over time, I believe we would enjoy wearing our clothing more because instead of buying stretch fabric everything, we could still wear good natural fibers, maybe a bit bulkier than spandex and less figure hugging and lurex denim, but would be better for the humans and the planet. Style and substance, as they say on the Great British Baking Show!

Is A Yarn Made From Recycled Marine Plastics Any Good?

As I have dove deeper into the world of fiber crafts and created often, I’ve become more conscious of the fibers I choose. Mainly because when a project doesn’t work, I feel like a jerk for making that mistake in hard to break down acrylic. I would feel less of a fool if my mistakes were constructed in biodegradable natural fibers like wool, cotton, linen, or bamboo. Starting in 2024, I began to migrate back to natural fibers, which I mentioned before in my Summer Knitting Plans post from last year. I had been hesitant to use wool before that, supposed allergies that I debunked in 2024, which led me to explore the many fiber offerings of Knit Picks.

When I was looking at sock yarns in the fall, a particular fiber caught my eye – Oceana. The Oceana line has this vibrant kaleidoscope of colors that evokes the tropical hues of a coral reef. It’s stunning! When my stepdad gifted me a Knit Picks gift card for Christmas, I knew exactly what I would order – the Oceana! Not just for the colors, but the innovative fiber content.

L to R: Sea Lettuce, Spirulina, Tiger Fish, Swordfish, Axoloti

This yarn is composed of 54% Superfine Alpaca and 46% Polyester SEAQUAL, which is made from marine litter cleaned from the ocean, and that plastic is then recycled into polyester (acrylic) yarn that is blended with the Alpaca fiber to create the Oceana yarn. The halo seems to be the Alpaca, based on my experience working with this yarn, and the interior chain fluffy fiber strand seems to be a combo of the recycled polyester and Alpaca fiber. Now, fiber blends are not the best for decomposing, but I like the motives behind this yarn. Instead of using newly created polyester, which doesn’t break down easily and is cluttering our environment, they are taking the trash out of the ocean and repurposing it into something useful. How cool is that? Can more polyester-based products start with recycling the plastic litter before making more? We literally have endless resources of trash, thanks to Shein and our rampant overconsumption.

So how does this yarn knit up? Excellently! It has this plush texture with a fuzzy halo that to me looks like those mohair strands knitters use to plush up a sweater.

I’d say the only cons I have are the price and the yardage. I didn’t find this yarn went far, and had to play yarn chicken a few times. I secondly was only able to order five skeins with my gift card, the yarn was on sale might I add, with a 50 USD gift card. When I ran out of yarn, I chose to supplement with Knit Picks Palette yarn in fingering weight, held in double strands to match gauge. I do understand that part of the price is the process of SEAQUAL and the Alpaca fiber costs as well, but it was just a bit too much for me to purchase more at full price when I ran out, especially when I had existing yarn in my stash that could work.

I had planned to have this project done by the time I reviewed the yarn, but as it is now April, and I’ve shifted to summer and spring knitting it is unlikely this project is wrapping up soon. Here’s a look at the project at its current state. 🙂

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